The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Canada's main stock index inched higher Wednesday as gains for energy shares offset investor reluctance to make big bets ahead of the release of earnings from U.S. megacap Nvidia. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says U.S. stocks were mixed, also not straying far from recent levels. "We're starting to see commentary from larger companies that have been deploying capital in the AI-tech-spend space talking about examples of how that spend is converting to either higher revenue or cost savings. That bodes well for companies like Nvidia that are on the picks and shovels side of that tech, AI spend trade," said Bill Merz, head of capital markets research for U.S. Bank's asset management group. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 25.69 points at 25,036.46, stopping just short of the record closing high it notched last Thursday at 25,049.67. The Toronto energy sector added 1 per cent even as oil settled 0.75 per cent lower at $68.87 (U.S.) a barrel. Consumer staples was another bright spot. It rose 0.6 per cent, recouping some of the previous day's decline. In contrast, the consumer discretionary group lost 0.9 per cent, with shares of Dollarama falling 3.3 per cent.